


Adonis Valley

by SincerelySerotonin



Category: Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Series (Video Games), Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, crossover in a purgatory setting, getting it off google docs, not sure if gonna continue this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 12:22:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30072180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincerelySerotonin/pseuds/SincerelySerotonin
Summary: Elli had always thought life a certain kind of hell, a struggle that seemed unending and painful. And yet it was in death - undeath? - that she was scarred all the more. Nothing could have prepared her for the purgatory that was Adonis Valley.Farming sim purgatory AU. Uncertain if continuing. Chapters not in chronological order.
Relationships: Shane (SDV)/Elli (64), past Jeff/Elli
Kudos: 1





	1. Nightmares

Elli had always thought life a certain kind of hell, a struggle that seemed unending and painful. And, as it turned out, death - undeath? - scared her all the more. Nothing could have prepared her for the purgatory that was Adonis Valley.

The never-ending feeling of being watched paired with those shadowy beasts outside was bad enough, but Elli had seen someone actually try to take on the shadows. They failed. They died. Ripped apart piece by piece right before her eyes as Shane covered her mouth, muffling her scream so as not to draw the monsters’ attention.

That was earlier that day. By the time Elli dropped into the bed in the abandoned house she’d been staying out, exhaustion carried her off to sleep. 

She had hoped it was dreamless. She hoped it would ease her heartache of seeing Jeff ripped apart in front of her eyes. At first, it seemed peaceful dreams awaited her. But as it always seemed to go in this fog-filled town, pain and suffering were quick to follow. So were the nightmares.

She dreamt she was the one ripped apart by the maws and sharp dagger-like claws of the shadows prowling town. She dreamt she was the one screaming, the one in pain. She swore she could feel it, every drip of blood, every drop of sweat, every tear, bite, swipe - without the peace of death to end her pain.

She woke from her nightmare with a scream, holding her nightgown-covered body close as if to confirm she was really still there. She was - and fully whole, at that. Safe. Unharmed. 

She gasped for air. Her lungs burned. Her eyes stung as tears dripped down her face.

And then footsteps. 

She braced herself for whatever shadow must have heard her, must have come to tear her apart. But when the door opened, it was only Shane. His dark brows creased with worry. He chewed at his lip, chapped and resting above an unshaved face.

“Elli,” he said softly.

Hearing her name helped ground her. That’s right. She’d never seen a shadow inside a building, only people. Thank the Harvest Goddess.

“Shane, thank goodness,” she breathed, her voice coming out in no more than a whisper.

He stood in the doorframe, leaning against the white wood with a worried look on his face.

“I heard you scream. Nightmares, I take it?”

Seemed she wasn’t the only one to suffer through these nightmares every night. Even though she’d only met him the other day, he understood. Nightmares followed you here. They haunted your sleep.

She nodded. “It was… about earlier. About Jeff.”

He glanced away, unable to hold the weight of her brown eyes staring at him, as if he actually had the power to ease her pain. As if. They were all powerless here.

“I know. That was… brutal.”

“That’s one word for it. And… and now he’s gone.”

She held her head in her hands, eyes shut tight to prevent any more tears from slipping out. Jeff… Poor, sweet Jeff… The bakery owner who had trained her, flirted with her, almost swept her off her feet. And he was gone.

A choked sob caught in her throat.

“He’s gone…” 

Shane cleared his throat with a ‘harumph’, but Elli didn’t look at him. She didn’t look up as she heard his mud-caked tennis shoes make their way across the room. She didn’t look at him as he took a seat on her pale blue covers.

She only looked up when he reached a hand out and cupped her cheek in his hand.

“Elli, I’ve got some… news for you.”

“Good or bad?” she asked, already dreading his answer.

“That’s up for you to decide.” He hesitated, before breaking the news to the baker as gently as he could. “Jeff… isn’t dead.”

“What?” the word barely squeaked out of her throat. A look of hope lit up her hazel eyes. “Where is he? Is he safe?”

“Debatable. If he’s not careful, he’ll become a shadow. But for now… For now he’s alive.”

Elli’s mouth fell open, but no sound followed. There were no words for this, for anything in Adonis Valley.

There was only pain.


	2. Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t give me space,” he begged. “That’s the last thing I want from you.”

The corruption started from the tip of his index finger. 

When Shane woke up one day, it was an inky black that wouldn’t wash off. He knew what it was, even then, but he didn’t want Elli to know. He kept his hand in his pocket whenever she was around just so she wouldn’t suspect a thing.

But the corruption never stayed in just one place, not for a single person Shane met. Every injury from the shadowy beasts caused the corruption to spread, slowly rising up his fingers and spreading until his hand was black. 

He thought Elli must suspect something, but he never told her. She didn’t know what it meant, but he felt like telling her meant he was giving up. He couldn’t give up.

The shadows pulled a nasty trick on him before the truth had a chance to slip or Elli had a chance to wise up. 

Oh, Yoba, how could they show him his goddaughter? Between the mist and the malice, the shadows conjured up a frightened image of Jas, and Shane ran towards it against his better judgement.

Funny, he’d gotten onto Elli for dying to that once.

They pierced him through with a shadowy tendril that was quick to spread and tear him apart. He begged Elli to run, and she did. Smart girl.

When he woke, his body had pieced itself back together on the streets near the Blue Bar. Elli said it was taken from a place called Forget-Me-Not Valley, along with the bartender and waitress. They weren’t there when he woke up.

His shirt and jacket were torn to shreds, leaving the corruption that had spread up his arm and across his chest perfectly visible.

“I’m becoming one of them…” he whispered, forcing himself onto his feet. 

He had to find Elli. Fuck, if something happened to her because he wasn’t there… 

“Just hold on. I’m coming.”

Even if he had to explain everything to her.

Even if he had to give up.

Luckily, Elli wasn’t a hard girl to find. She was predictable, so it was only natural she returned to the bakery they were calling home. It was familiar for her; it was a reflection the shadows had brought from Flowerbud Village.

His muscles ached from reconstructing themselves, so he leaned against the doorframe after opening the door. He inhaled the scent of fresh bread and chuckled to himself. Elli always did bake when she was nervous.

“Smells good, Elli!” he called out.

He laughed as he heard the surprised noise that escaped her mouth and the hurried footsteps of her flats on the wooden floor. Damn, she really was rushing. Might make a guy think she actually missed him.

“Ah, Elli?”

She threw her arms around him, clinging to his pudgy, shirtless form. Tears stung her eyes as she choked back a sob. She was always crying these days.

Shane hesitated, unused to her touch, or touch of any kind. But it was hard to say how long he’d been gone. The carnage had been pretty bad after all. He sighed softly, resting his chin on top of the short girl’s head, wrapping his arms around her.

“You came back! It’s been a week so I thought-”

“That they really got me this time?”

She nodded against his chest.

“I’m back…” he said softly as he ran his fingers through her hair.

As if realizing what she’d done only then, Elli quickly released the taller man and backed away until she pressed against the sales counter. Her hazel eyes wouldn’t meet his gaze and a crimson flush colored her cheeks.

The touch had been sudden and, as sudden as it had come, it was gone. Shane would have been lying if he said he hadn’t wished it lasted a little longer.

“Y-your arm-” Elli stammered.

He followed her gaze to the darkness crawling up his body and exhaled a sigh. How could he say this? 

Slowly he approached her, raising his hand to her cheek. This was forward for him, but he knew if he didn’t act on instinct the words would never come out. He didn’t know if he’d lose Elli soon when he lost his own mind, but he knew he at least had her by his side for now.

“Don’t give me space,” he begged. “That’s the last thing I want from you.”

Because he didn’t know how much time he had left with her.


End file.
